ONCE STEPHEN BRADLEY had finished praising the performances of John O’Sullivan, Danny Grant and Victor Ozhianvuna, the Shamrock Rovers boss was asked about the penalty decision that went his side’s way just before half-time.
The Hoops were already leading Bohemians 1-0 at Tallaght Stadium when referee Rob Hennessy decided that Dawson Devoy had tripped Grant from behind as he prepared to shoot in the box.
Bohs boss Alan Reynolds spoke only to Virgin Media after the 2-1 defeat and described it as “a disgrace.”
"I think the penalty decision is a disgrace, he doesn't wanna talk about it now for some reason"
Alan Reynolds frustrated after Bohs’ defeat, as he questions the big call that shaped the derby 💥#loipic.twitter.com/8ELPOGDRmP
Bradley felt somewhat differently, and went on to praise the performance of referee Rob Hennessy, pointing out that the penalty he awarded to Bohs late on was also correct.
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“It was a penalty. I watched it for 10 seconds and it’s a penalty, like their one was. But forget the penalties, I thought he reffed the game [well]. Sometimes referees are too eager to get involved in them games and throw silly yellow cards early, and in them games things happen, you know, but he didn’t.
“He allowed the game to breathe and he allowed contact for both sides. And like I said, sometimes we were calling for fouls, we didn’t get them, they were the same. We accept that if it’s going both ways and he lets it flow and I thought he did that. They’re both penalties in my opinion.”
Slowed down clips of the penalty decision quickly went viral on social media during the game and that was a natural avenue to explore in terms of the future use of video assistant referees (VAR).
“We don’t want VAR, that’s for sure,” Bradley said.
“I think VAR is killing the game. You’re supposed to bring it in to make it more black and white. If anything, it’s created more grey areas. It’s nonsense. You’re still going to a video room where it’s someone else’s opinion. It doesn’t make sense.
“I think it’s actually made the game worse, not better. If it (the referee’s decision) is wrong then it’s wrong. It’s wrong. We’re watching games every week where it’s stopped for two, three, four minutes. Nonsense, you could stop every incident in the game and get foulS and yellow cards. There’s always contact. So yeah, no chance.”
Bradley was pressed further on his reluctance to see technology introduced and cited a penalty decision that went against his side in September 2024 when Patrick McEleney earned Derry City a spot kick to secure a 1-1 draw.
“We all agree that it (VAR) is taking the joy out of the game. We can’t do that. We don’t want to. We can’t do that. It cost us in Derry few years ago and ultimately that cost us the league. But we still don’t want VAR. It’s killing the game everywhere. It’s slowing things down. Creating grey areas. You’ve got seven opinions now, rather than the three and the fourth official. It’s ridiculous.”
“I haven’t looked at that, to be honest. We knew it was going to be an important period and we knew we had to be ready,” Bradley said.
Top of the league and with room for improvement, the champions find themselves in a good place as this hectic period of games before summer contine thick and fast.
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'We don't want VAR. It's killing the game' - Stephen Bradley's firm stance on technology in League of Ireland
ONCE STEPHEN BRADLEY had finished praising the performances of John O’Sullivan, Danny Grant and Victor Ozhianvuna, the Shamrock Rovers boss was asked about the penalty decision that went his side’s way just before half-time.
The Hoops were already leading Bohemians 1-0 at Tallaght Stadium when referee Rob Hennessy decided that Dawson Devoy had tripped Grant from behind as he prepared to shoot in the box.
Bohs boss Alan Reynolds spoke only to Virgin Media after the 2-1 defeat and described it as “a disgrace.”
Bradley felt somewhat differently, and went on to praise the performance of referee Rob Hennessy, pointing out that the penalty he awarded to Bohs late on was also correct.
“It was a penalty. I watched it for 10 seconds and it’s a penalty, like their one was. But forget the penalties, I thought he reffed the game [well]. Sometimes referees are too eager to get involved in them games and throw silly yellow cards early, and in them games things happen, you know, but he didn’t.
“He allowed the game to breathe and he allowed contact for both sides. And like I said, sometimes we were calling for fouls, we didn’t get them, they were the same. We accept that if it’s going both ways and he lets it flow and I thought he did that. They’re both penalties in my opinion.”
Slowed down clips of the penalty decision quickly went viral on social media during the game and that was a natural avenue to explore in terms of the future use of video assistant referees (VAR).
“We don’t want VAR, that’s for sure,” Bradley said.
“I think VAR is killing the game. You’re supposed to bring it in to make it more black and white. If anything, it’s created more grey areas. It’s nonsense. You’re still going to a video room where it’s someone else’s opinion. It doesn’t make sense.
“I think it’s actually made the game worse, not better. If it (the referee’s decision) is wrong then it’s wrong. It’s wrong. We’re watching games every week where it’s stopped for two, three, four minutes. Nonsense, you could stop every incident in the game and get foulS and yellow cards. There’s always contact. So yeah, no chance.”
Bradley was pressed further on his reluctance to see technology introduced and cited a penalty decision that went against his side in September 2024 when Patrick McEleney earned Derry City a spot kick to secure a 1-1 draw.
“We all agree that it (VAR) is taking the joy out of the game. We can’t do that. We don’t want to. We can’t do that. It cost us in Derry few years ago and ultimately that cost us the league. But we still don’t want VAR. It’s killing the game everywhere. It’s slowing things down. Creating grey areas. You’ve got seven opinions now, rather than the three and the fourth official. It’s ridiculous.”
League of Ireland historian Karl Reilly posted on social media after the win that Rovers have now beaten Shelbourne, St Patrick’s Athletic and Bohs in three successive Dublin derbies for the first time since January 1960.
“I haven’t looked at that, to be honest. We knew it was going to be an important period and we knew we had to be ready,” Bradley said.
Top of the league and with room for improvement, the champions find themselves in a good place as this hectic period of games before summer contine thick and fast.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Bohemians League of Ireland LOI loi2026 Shamrock Rovers Soccer Stephen Bradley Video Nasty